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jmelie5555 · Mar 28, 2014, 09:56 AM

Good morning,
I found my car with a shattered rear window and a large dent on the bumper.
My 17 year old son stated that the rear window and the bumper were damaged by a forcefully thrown tire from about a 10 feet distance at football practice.
I would understand for the rear window, but could you please explain to me if a thrown tire can physically and structurally damaged a solid metallic structure as a bumper according to the laws of physics?
Thank you for your attention to this trivial question.
JM Elie, MD

smoothy · Mar 28, 2014, 09:58 AM

I think you have a 17 year old that's not telling you the entire story,or possibly the entire truth.

jmelie5555 · Mar 28, 2014, 10:06 AM

So my impression that a projected tire cannot physically damage a bumper is correct, hence someone is making a false statement?

smoothy · Mar 28, 2014, 10:12 AM

Depends on the bumper... I've seen some it could (flimsy) and others it wouldn't. The part that makes it less believable is the damage to the bumper AND the window both.

One or the other alone is very possible... but the odds of both on one single throw of a tire dramatically shrink.

He'd better be naming names if he was my son... and police would be called for a report naming the people involved. Because they would be paying for it.

jmelie5555 · Mar 28, 2014, 10:21 AM

Ok , I have the real story now, and it is crazy:
He was at Wendys drive through, someone got mad because he was too slow, the man came out of his car enraged and out of the blue threw a tire to his rear window and shattered it, my son then threw the window back to this man's car, who now is stating that the tire caused 'a large dent to his front bumper".
Seems that I cannot take this issue lightly, for two reasons: my son, a minor was assaulted and the aggressor is making a false statement concerning his property damage.

smoothy · Mar 28, 2014, 10:24 AM

Agree... if you haven't called the police yet... you need to... if that other guy does and you don't... then you can guess how this looks.

Wendys might have security cameras that might have caught it.

jmelie5555 · Mar 28, 2014, 10:27 AM

Thank you.
John Eli

odinn7 · Mar 28, 2014, 10:53 AM

I have to be honest, even the newly updated story sounds a little out of proportion...like you still don't have all the details. I can't picture someone just coming up with a tire and pitching it through the window. I mean, where did he get this tire?...and then the question still remains: how did the bumper on your car get damaged?

smoothy · Mar 28, 2014, 11:04 AM

I read it to be... other guy possibly grabbed it out of his truck bed, (what else might have chrome bumbers these days)threw it and broke window... son grabs it throws it back and damages the tire owners bumper. So two actual vehicles damaged.

THough I'm guessing there was a heated verbal exchange between both sides before it escalated to that. Highly likely there were witnesses to the event. inside the Wendys or in the parking lot even if it wasn't caught on the security cameras.

odinn7 · Mar 28, 2014, 11:15 AM

But the OP stated in the first question that there is damage to his window AND bumper....in the follow-up, there is no mention of how his bumper actually got damaged. So to me, something is not being told.

smoothy · Mar 28, 2014, 11:29 AM

Reading back ithrough the thread t looks like TWO bumpers were damaged then.

Hmmm, front bumper and a back bumper....I'm thinking there is more to this.

Since it started being at football practice....then was at a Wendy's.

Cat1864 · Mar 28, 2014, 11:57 AM

Am I correct in thinking that the 'Physics' question is now a 'Legal' question? If so, because laws vary from one locality to the next, we would need to know your general location (Country/State/Territory.) It might also help to know what your make and model your car is.

I don't think you have all the details and very few of the facts. Has the owner of the other vehicle contacted you or your son?

This seems to be a developing story. Don't be too quick to jump to your son's defense before you get verified details, if possible. I know it is a parental response to want to protect your child, but be certain he wasn't the one at fault and hasn't been dancing around the truth.

catonsville · Mar 28, 2014, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by odinn7

But the OP stated in the first question that there is damage to his window AND bumper....in the follow-up, there is no mention of how his bumper actually got damaged. So to me, something is not being told.

Kind of reminds me of when my 17 year old son told me "The Curb jumped out and hit his car" Alignment was never the same. Your son has a lot of explaining to do
Without the BS, I think.

smearcase · Mar 28, 2014, 01:34 PM

Was the tire also mounted on a wheel? I agree with odin, having the tire (or was it a tire mounted on a wheel?) handy for throwing is the strange part, but grabbed from the bed of a pickup is not out of the question.
And as smoothy suggested there should be witnesses and possibly video.
The fact that you say you found it, and I assume it was not reported by your son to you, that hurts you son's story.
I haven't seen solid steel bumpers on many vehicles except some pickups and old cars for a long time.
What make/model vehicle was yours and has your son described the other vehicle?
I think that the mythbusters would put this in the "plausible" category, at least until more information is provided.